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AN EXPOSITION OF THE TEN COMMANDMENTS, Delivered in several LECTURES.
(And God speake all these words, saying, I am the Lord thy God. Which have brought thee out of the Land of Egypt, out of the House of Bondage.
BEing (through Gods strength (resolved to Essay the opening of the Ten Commandments, all that we shall say, by way of Preface, shal be to give you an account of the Motives which have engaged us in this Work.
The first is the Excellency of this Scripture, it being by the Lord himself intended as a comprehensive sum of his peoples duty, and commanded to us from this, that though all the Scripture be his Word, yet this in a singular manner is so; for he spake all these words himself, and by a Voice immediatly formed by himself he pronunced them first to his people, and afterward twice by his Finger (that is, immediatly by himself, without making use of any Pen-man, as in other Scriptures) he wrote them for his peoples behoof upon two Tables of Stone, which were afterwards commanded in a singular manner to be kept in the Ark, Deut. 10. v. 2. 5. and to be learned, Deut. 5. 1. as also to be written on the Posts of their Doors, and diligently pressed on their Children, Deut. 67. 8. 9. 10. In opening of which Commandments, not only the Prophets and Apostles, but our blessed Lord in that Sermon of his upon the Mount, Matth. 5. 6. 7. doth much insist,
The second is the usefulness of this Scripture, and of the knowledge of it to all that would know what is pleasing to God, that they may be fitted for duty to him and may know what is displeasing to him; that may know sin, and how to eschew it, and may be stirred up to repentance when they have fallen into it, this being the Laws property, that thereby is the knowledge of sin, Rom. 7. 7. and so likewise the knowledge of duty; therefore it is summed in so few words, that it may be the more easily brought into, and retained in the memories and hearts of his people: For which cause also of old and late, has it always been recommended, both in the Word, Deut. 5. 1. and in all Catechisms to be learned as a Rule of mens wal∣king; and yet so comprehensive is it, that without pains and diligence to come to the understanding thereof men cannot but come short of the great scop thereof.
The third is the great ignorance, that is amongst not a few, of the meaning of the useful and excellent Scripture, and especially in this secure time, many not knowing